HUMAN RESOURCE development
minister Kapil Sibal has
promised action within 100 days
on the Yash Pal committee’s
recommendations of sweeping
changes in the policy for
managing higher education.
Among other things, the
panel’s report,submitted to the
minister on Wednesday, called
for the setting up of an umbrella
higher education regulator in
place of bodies such as the
University Grants Commission
(UGC) and All India Council for
Technical Education, and for
giving university status to IITs
and IIMs.
“The report shows a road map
for the future of education in
India…I believe the nation will
accept it,” Sibal said.
The report said university
admissions should be on the
basis of performance in a
national test — similar to the
GRE (Graduate Record Exam)
—conducted more than once a
year. “Students will be permitted
to send their best test score
to the university for admission,”
the report said.
Yash Pal said the report’s main recommendation was the setting up of a statutory and
autonomous National Commission for Higher
Education and Research (NCHER), which will
subsume all the existing 13 regulatory bodies.
The National Knowledge Commission (NKC)
had made the same recommendation in 2007.
Former human resource minister Arjun Singh
had constituted the Yash Pal panel last year after
the NKC and a parliamentary standing committee
said India’s higher education regulatory
mechanism was archaic.
Yash Pal said instead of inspection-based
approval (often called ‘licence raj’),the NCHER
would adopt a verification and authentication
method.
Under this,each institute will make a self-declaration on academic standards,which the commission
will verify. “If the self-declaration is
found to be false, action will be initiated against
the institute,” he said.
The committee said the NCHER’s first job
should be to identify India’s best 1,500 colleges
for upgradation to universities. “Individual colleges
or a cluster of colleges can be given university
status,” said Yash Pal.
The report said the job of setting academic
standards —currently with the regulatory bodies
— should be delegated to universities.
The panel also asked the government to immediately stop granting deemed university status
till the proposed commission examined the issue.
chetan@hindustantimes.com
HUMAN RESOURCE development
minister Kapil Sibal has
promised action within 100 days
on the Yash Pal committee’s
recommendations of sweeping
changes in the policy for
managing higher education.
Among other things, the
panel’s report,submitted to the
minister on Wednesday, called
for the setting up of an umbrella
higher education regulator in
place of bodies such as the
University Grants Commission
(UGC) and All India Council for
Technical Education, and for
giving university status to IITs
and IIMs.
“The report shows a road map
for the future of education in
India…I believe the nation will
accept it,” Sibal said.
The report said university
admissions should be on the
basis of performance in a
national test — similar to the
GRE (Graduate Record Exam)
—conducted more than once a
year. “Students will be permitted
to send their best test score
to the university for admission,”
the report said.
Yash Pal said the report’s main recommen-
dation was the setting up of a statutory and
autonomous National Commission for Higher
Education and Research (NCHER), which will
subsume all the existing 13 regulatory bodies.
The National Knowledge Commission (NKC)
had made the same recommendation in 2007.
Former human resource minister Arjun Singh
had constituted the Yash Pal panel last year after
the NKC and a parliamentary standing committee
said India’s higher education regulatory
mechanism was archaic.
Yash Pal said instead of inspection-based
approval (often called ‘licence raj’),the NCHER
would adopt a verification and authentication
method.
Under this,each institute will make a self-dec-
laration on academic standards,which the commission
will verify. “If the self-declaration is
found to be false, action will be initiated against
the institute,” he said.
The committee said the NCHER’s first job
should be to identify India’s best 1,500 colleges
for upgradation to universities. “Individual colleges
or a cluster of colleges can be given university
status,” said Yash Pal.
The report said the job of setting academic
standards —currently with the regulatory bodies
— should be delegated to universities.
The panel also asked the government to imme-
diately stop granting deemed university status
till the proposed commission examined the issue.
chetan@hindustantimes.com